Trusted content is the key to consumer purchasing decisions
The internet and social media mean that there is more information available to consumers than ever before. But which opinions do we actually trust?
A new study from Nielsen commissioned by content specialist inPowered seeks to understand how consumers use digital content when it comes to researching and making purchases.
VirtualBox squashes major bugs, adds experimental native full-screen support to OS X
Oracle has released VirtualBox 4.3.10, a maintenance update to its cross-platform, partly open-source virtualization tool. Although primarily a series of bug fixes, there is one new feature of note for OS X users.
That feature is experimental support for the native full-screen mode as implemented in Mountain Lion and Mavericks -- press the defined host key plus [F] to toggle this on or off, or use the View menu. This new feature is accompanied by the removal of another: the mini-toolbar minimize button that doesn’t work in full screen view.
K2 makes SharePoint development easier
Microsoft's SharePoint, just in case you aren't familiar with it, is a set of web technologies with an Office-like interface that's designed to allow non-technical staff to build business apps.
SharePoint is typically employed to provide internet and intranet sites as well as enterprise document and content management. Now business application specialist K2 is aiming to help SharePoint users build better applications without the need for any coding.
AIDA64 adds support for upcoming Windows 8.1 Update, debuts new graphics benchmark
Budapest software firm FinalWire Ltd has released AIDA64 Extreme Edition 4.30 and AIDA64 Business Edition 4.30. The latest builds of its diagnostic and benchmarking tool introduce a new graphics benchmark for measuring the SHA-1 hashing performance of modern chips and cards, plus adds support for the latest technologies.
AIDA64 4.30 also introduces support for the forthcoming Windows 8.1 Update and Windows Server 2012 Update 1 releases. It also optimizes and fixes three modules: ACPI query, tree enumeration and temperature measurement.
Black Menu for Google Chrome: an easier way to access Google tools
Google offers many different services, and switching between them isn’t difficult. If you’re at Google News, say, click the Apps icon top right and you’ll see buttons for Search, Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Maps and more: just click whatever you need to launch that page.
This is simple enough, but not ideal. You need to be at one Google service before you can launch another; whatever you select replaces the current page, and there are at least two clicks required. If you’re a Chrome user then Black Menu for Google could provide an easier solution.
Why the use of personal data for authentication needs to change
We run more and more of our lives online today, with multiple accounts for different services. But many of those sites rely on the same few personal identifiers.
Things like your date of birth, social security number and mother’s maiden name may be common to many of your logins, and that’s a problem. If one site's security is breached then your personal identifiers are compromised.
HTC is (too) confident reviewers like One (M8)
The first ad a company releases for its new product reveals the marketing strategy it pursues. In HTC's case, the first video advert for the new One (M8) tells us nothing concrete about the smartphone.
The ad features actor Gary Oldman, who, while saying "blah" countless times as if he has got nothing interesting to tell us, refers us to the good old Internet to make up our own minds about the One (M8), a smartphone which, per the man's words, "is designed for people who form their own opinions". No wonder the ad is called "Blah Blah Blah - Go Ahead, Ask The Internet".
ZoneAlarm enhances protection of its paid products
Zone Labs has updated its ZoneAlarm range to version 13.0.208.000.
ZoneAlarm Free users probably shouldn’t get too excited, as the only significant change they’ll notice is that the Privacy Toolbar finally works with Internet Explorer 11.
Keepin' it virtually real -- Facebook buys Oculus VR for $2 billion
It has been a day of purchases today. If Intel purchasing wearable tech outfit Basis was not enough, everyone's favorite social network (or something like that), Facebook has splashed the cash on virtual reality startup Oculus VR. In a deal worth $2 billion, Mark Zuckerberg's company will hand over $400 million in greenbacks, in addition to 23.1 million Facebook shares. The purchase comes just weeks after Facebook bought messaging service Whatsapp for $19 billion.
Oculus VR is most readily associated with gaming, but Zuckerberg is more interested in the communication potential. Millions of people use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, family, celebrities and companies, but the firm wants to take things further. "We have a lot more to do on mobile, but at this point we feel we're in a position where we can start focusing on what platforms will come next to enable even more useful, entertaining and personal experiences", says Zuckerberg in a statement on Facebook.
Overcome an alien invasion and get in shape at the same time with BattleSuit Runner Fitness
As much as I enjoy running, I often need help and motivation to get started, and keep going, and Zombies, Run! has been my savior. I’ve mentioned the fitness app several times in the past, but if you’re not familiar, it’s a sort of interactive radio play, in which episodic stories unfold in-between tracks from your playlist as you run, transforming a real-world jog into a journey through the zombie apocalypse.
Season 3 of Zombies, Run! is out next month, but I’ve found a new running app to keep me occupied until then. BattleSuit Runner Fitness is available for both Android and iOS and is quite similar in that the missions unfold in-between your running songs, but in this game you’re DeltaSuit, an exosuit-wearing commando battling against an alien invasion.
Microsoft makes source code for MS-DOS and Word for Windows publicly available for the first time
Microsoft has teamed up with the Computer History Museum (CHM) to make the original source code for two of its most historic programs publicly available for the first time. MS-DOS, the 1982 Disk Operating System for IBM-compatible personal computers, and Word for Windows, the 1990 Windows-based version of popular word processor.
“The museum has done an excellent job of curating some of the most significant historical software programs in computing history", Roy Levin, distinguished engineer and managing director, Microsoft Research says. “As part of this ongoing project, the museum will make available two of the most widely used software programs of the 1980’s, MS DOS 1.1 and 2.0 and Microsoft Word for Windows 1.1a, to help future generations of technologists better understand the roots of personal computing”.
Rocking the dorm room -- Spotify offers student discounts
Students are sometimes in need of breaks on prices, as school eats into the time required for a job. To that end, many software and hardware makers offer discounts to allow those we consider our future to be able to attain what they need in order to get through classes. But that isn't all that's required, unwinding with some entertainment is also sometimes necessary.
Now Spotify wants to help out, offering discounts for students. The service has announced it is cutting the price in half, slashing $9.99 down to $4.99 for college students.
Initial thoughts and impressions from the HTC One (M8) launch event
Earlier today, Mihaita Bamburic wrote about HTC's new smartphone, the One (M8). Here, I am going to convey my initial thoughts and impressions after some hands-on time with the device.
With all the leaked specs, photos, and videos of the HTC One (M8) preceding the announcement, I was worried, before coming to the London launch event, that I would not be too impressed when I finally got the chance to see the phone for real. Thankfully, I was wrong.
What really happens when you press Ctrl+C? Clipboard Format Spy has the answers
In theory, the Windows clipboard seems very simple. Select something, press Ctrl+C and it’s copied there; click somewhere else, press Ctrl+V and it’s pasted. Easy.
Then again, sometimes you’ll try to paste something and find the formatting is messed up, or you just don’t get what you expected. What’s happening? The free Clipboard Format Spy may be able to help.
CCleaner improves Opera browser support, Registry cleaning
Piriform has issued the latest monthly update to its Windows cleaning tool with the release of CCleaner 4.12 and CCleaner Portable 4.12. After the excitement of last month’s release, version 4.12 is a more sedate affair.
Chief among its new features is wider support for the new Blink-based version of Opera, which joins various other tweaks, improvements and fixes.
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